Offering Our Intellect

So now that we’ve thoroughly talked about my past, perhaps it’s time we talked about the present, and perhaps even the future. You may be thinking, what exactly it is I do for a living besides writing about my traumatic upbringing filled with fake blood and violence. Well, I’ve been working in construction for a number of years now. Yeah, that’s right, the individual who spent so much time watching the dismemberment of others actually works by putting things together and creating new objects, the irony. In essence, I just really like working with my hands, and this particular job allows me to do that on a daily basis. If you want to find out more about the work I specifically do, you can see some of our results over at www.expediteconstruction.com

Beyond the thing that I do that makes money, I spend a lot of it when it comes to movies, movie memorabilia and other things. I edit certain web pages when it comes to movie information, and other random acts that allow me to further indulge on my passion. No matter what the item is, if it’s movie related, I have something to do with it. It’s just something that I can never get tired of. No matter what I wind up doing on a day to day basis, I still just thoroughly enjoy popping in a new movie, or going to the theater and allowing myself to get lost in the creation put to film.

Whether it’s an epic series based on long standing lore, or a new and intricate idea for a story to tell, that’s what it all boils down to. It’s a series of stories. Some meant to scare us, some meant to get an emotional reaction out of us, but all meant to have you walking away either questioning, or feeling the leftover emotion that you just experienced. And whether that’s through a new kids movie, or a love movie, or any other random thought put to screen, you can always bank on having some form of reaction. Now that’s not to say that I simply enjoy every last movie I’ve ever seen, oh heck no. I have seen some truly bad movies in my time, but even in that, you walk away thinking of why it was bad.

Was it bad acting? Writing? Or a combination of things that just turned out to make the experience one that you didn’t enjoy. Even in those situations I’m never turned off by the idea of movies, because even in a bad situation, you still have something new that you’re walking away with. And I think that’s one of the true magics that movies offer. You always have a way to see something differently, to pay attention to something new. And when watching a movie, you always have the capability to focus on some different aspect each time you re-watch your favorite, or least favorite offerings. I will always be a movie buff, and I will always want to share why.

I left off talking about my introduction into the movie experience, and I realize in the last blub I went over something in a skimming fashion that most people would do a double take on. Yes, myself and my mom watched horror movies together before I was ten. This may come as a shock to some, and think that I’m some maladjusted person wearing all black living in a basement somewhere. But in truth, it didn’t bother me in the slightest. See, the way I look at it, is that by being exposed to the film industry early, and seeing things that were supposed to be violent, allowed me to better understand the separation between film and real life.

I’m not some individual who thinks that Scarface was something that really happened. Though, of course in some communities in the world, the things that happen in that film are tame by comparison, but I never watched a movie thinking that it was really happening. I had the ability to form that disconnect between entertainment and real life. So I never got the urge to see what it would really be like to take a machete to someone, or to set fire to things just to watch it burn. I wold talk to my mom about the things we saw, and she would lay it out that it was all just make believe, and that one should never actually do it in real life.

This also, through the eighties slasher flicks, introduced me to sex pretty early. I saw my fair share of breasts before I really understood the attraction. This also led me to having a better level of comfort when it came to taboo topics such as sex. I never looked at the human body as something to be terrifically ashamed of. These are body parts that we all have, and seeing some of that body is not the do all and end all of existence. I think that by being open about these things, and allowing me to experience it in an open environment, rather than one where I had to hide it, or otherwise, made me able to appreciate the intricacies of things more. Am I saying that every parent should start watching horror movies and skin flicks with their middle school kids? Of course not. But I’m also saying that if you do, it’s ok, as long as you take the time to have your child appreciate the difference.

This blog piece went off on a heck of a tangent about parenting skills and such, and for that I apologize, though I am interested in seeing what other people think of the topic as well. Feel free to respond and let me know what you think about the situation and what choices you would make. You can flame my mom all you want, but really if you’re going to be purely closed minded about it, I’ll just ignore the response, it’s the way that healthy adjusted people deal with things.

I am an individual who loves movies, it’s easy to tell in every conversation, every interaction I have. Those who know me hate to think about movies to watch, because it’s playing more of a game of what haven’t I watched, rather than what would I like to watch. Every instance I find myself in, I can think of a movie quote or scenario that has played out on the big screen to compare it to. This led to some quite awkward situations at times, but overall I find it a compliment to be known as the movie guy. The one that people could to go to answer burning questions about who directed what, and the name of that actress in that movie about the things.

Throughout my time in the movie circles, chatrooms, theaters and more, I have had the opportunity to meet many other likeminded individuals that I could have a long series of chats with regarding all things movie related. And this led me to the realization that I’m not the only person in my position who loves all forms of movies with the same fervor as I do. Hence, I decided to finally take my knowledge and well of information to the internet, and start this blog piece. Maybe there will be others out there in the same boat as me who just love picking up on information as much as I do.

I would assume the best place to start would be the beginning, every hero has their origin story right? For me it began with my mother. She was the type of individual who enjoyed movies enough to watch them all as they came out, but not enough to actually sit through them without asking a myriad of questions. I suppose this is what ignited my need to know details about movies, to be able to answer all the inevitable questions that would come along with watching a movie with her. I was around six or seven when we first started to marathon movies together, I assume part of the benefit of being raised by a single mom. I guess she didn’t know any other ways to keep me occupied, but I didn’t mind at all.

Where I lived, we had video rental places that would have deals on certain movie types. Where you could rent say five movies, for five dollars. This was still back in the rental hay days, but five dollars was easy enough for my mom to come by, and so we would take advantage of the offer every few days. I would remember her coming home from work, and I would be excited to see what movie we were watching then. From action to horror, and comedies to drama, I loved every type of movie there was. I was never locked into a niche, and so managed to gain an appreciation for all movie types. I assume that’s why I have watched as many movies as I have, not being locked into a specific like.